The chevy engine I meant was the pre 53 babbit rod motor,,it was junk,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,the later 235 I think "blue flame" first came in the 53 vette,,it is a horse,,,,,,,,,,
of course we all kow ford is the truck king,,that isnt questioned,the ford trucks were always superior in everyway to gm and has the sales numbers to prove it,,
55,56,57 fords out sold chevys by a great deal in retail sales,chevy sold large numbers of govt and military contracts "they were cheaper} which makes the numbers look off,but I suppose it is still more in actual numbers,,just not retail sales.
of course then as today car makes each have their own way to quote numbers,making each look the best.
lastly,,the flathead was and is a wonderful,reliable motor,the only inherient problem were valve seats cracking,due to the poor steel of the day,with updated seats these things run forever,the old timers used to say the only way to ruin a flathead ford was to run without
oil or water,any one ever notice all the old gray ford tractors still alive ? the ones prior to 1952 ,{Millions of them} use a simular motor,most are 4 cyls,but many were v8's like the cars,thousands are still in use in mexico where hey are considered top of the line,,most of the old cars and trucks were upgrade to over head valves because although solid,a stock flathead wont get out of it's own way
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,Tk